System and method of communication in an IP multimedia subsystem network

ABSTRACT

A system and method of communication in an IMS network is disclosed. An apparatus that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a call processing server having a controller element that receives from a terminal device a calling ID for establishing communications with a called party, submits to a telephone number mapping (ENUM) server a query corresponding to the calling ID, receives from the ENUM server a plurality of communication identifiers retrieved from a Naming Authority Pointer record according to a grade of service (GoS) of the called party, and selects according to the GoS of the called party a communication identifier from the plurality of communication identifiers to establish communications with the called party. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/956,591, filed Aug. 1, 2013, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/832,059, filed Jul.7, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,542,632, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/677,551, filed Feb. 21, 2007, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,778,231, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to communication techniques andmore specifically to a system and method of communication in an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) network.

BACKGROUND

There are many communication resources available to consumers today. Acalled party can be targeted at, for example, a cell phone, a homephone, an office phone, email, or instant messaging to mention a few.Although IMS advances the convergence of circuit-switched andpacket-switched technologies, it does not readily address an efficientmanner in which to contact a called party in view of the expansivecommunication means available to said party.

A need therefore arises for a system and method of communication in anIMS network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a terminal device;

FIGS. 2-3 depict exemplary methods operating in portions of an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) network;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of an IMS network from which aplurality of terminal devices operate; and

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, whenexecuted, may cause the machine to perform any plurality of themethodologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a systemand method of communication in an IMS network.

In a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium can have computer instructions for updating a NamingAuthority Pointer (NAPTR) record associated with an end user with agrade of service (GoS) selected from a plurality of selectable GoSs eachcomprising a variant of at least one among a plurality of communicationidentifiers for establishing communications with the end user.

In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a call processingserver (CPS) can have a controller element that receives from a terminaldevice a calling ID for establishing communications with a called party,submits to a telephone number mapping (ENUM) server a querycorresponding to the calling ID, receives from the ENUM server aplurality of communication identifiers retrieved from a NAPTR recordaccording to a GoS of the called party, and selects according to the GoSof the called party a communication identifier from the plurality ofcommunication identifiers to establish communications with the calledparty.

In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium in an ENUM server can have computer instructions forsubmitting to a requesting Call Session Control Function (CSCF) aplurality of communication identifiers retrieved from a Naming AuthorityPointer (NAPTR) record structured according to a grade of service (GoS)of an end user associated with said NAPTR record.

In a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium in a domain name server (DNS) can have computerinstructions for translating a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) into anInternet Protocol (IP) address and transmitting said IP address to arequesting Call Session Control Function (CSCF). The requesting CSCF canselect said URI from one among a plurality of URIs received from an ENUMserver that retrieved said plurality of URIs from a NAPTR recordstructured according to a GoS of an end user associated with said NAPTRrecord.

In a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readablestorage medium in a presence server can have computer instructions fortransmitting presence information to a CPS to direct the CPS in itsselection of one among a plurality of communication identifiers receivedfrom a telephone number mapping (ENUM) server that retrieved saidplurality of communication identifiers from a Naming Authority Pointer(NAPTR) record structured according to a grade of service (GoS) of anend user associated with said NAPTR record.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a terminal device 100. Theterminal device 100 can comprise a wireless or wireline transceiver 102,a user interface (UI) 104, a power supply 116, and a controller 103 formanaging operations of the foregoing components. The transceiver 102 canutilize common communication technologies to support singly or incombination any number of wireline access technologies such as cable,xDSL, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and so on.

Singly or in combination with the wireline technology, the transceiver102 can support singly or in combination any number of wireless accesstechnologies including without limitation Digital Enhance CordlessTelecommunications (DECT), Bluetooth™, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Ultra Wide Band(UWB), software defined radio (SDR), and cellular access technologiessuch as CDMA-1X, W-CDMA/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, and EVDO. SDR can beutilized for accessing public and private communication spectrum withany number of communication protocols that can be dynamically downloadedover-the-air to the terminal device 100. It should be noted also thatnext generation wireline and wireless access technologies can also beapplied to the present disclosure.

The UI element 104 can include a keypad 106 with depressible or touchsensitive keys and a navigation element such as a navigation disk,button, roller ball, or flywheel for manipulating operations of theterminal device 100. The UI element 104 can further include a display108 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) which canbe touch sensitive for manipulating operations of the terminal device100 and for conveying images to the end user of said device, and anaudio system 110 that utilizes common audio technology for conveying andintercepting audible signals of the end user.

The power supply 116 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable batteries, supply regulation technologies, andcharging system technologies for supplying energy to the components ofthe terminal device 100 and to facilitate portable applications.Depending on the type of power supply 116 used, the terminal device 100can represent an immobile or portable communication device. Thecontroller 103 can utilize computing technologies such as amicroprocessor and/or digital signal processor (DSP) with associatedstorage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other liketechnologies for controlling operations of the terminal device 100.

The terminal device 100 can represent a single operational device or afamily of devices configured in a master-slave arrangement. In thelatter embodiment, the components of the terminal device 100 can bereused in different form factors for the master and slave terminaldevices 100. The terminal device 100 can also be represented by anynumber of communication devices including without limitation a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a cell phone, a personal digitalassistant, a set-top-box (STB), or a cordless phone just to name a few.An end user can also utilize more than one type of terminal device 100and migrate between terminal devices when desired. Additionally, each ofthe terminal devices 100 can be addressed by one or more communicationidentifiers for establishing real-time (e.g., voice) and/or non-realtime communications (e.g., text or recorded speech).

FIGS. 2-3 depict exemplary methods 200-300 operating in portions of anIP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network such as shown in FIG. 4. A portionof the IMS network can comprise a Call Processing System (CPS) 400, aHome Subscriber Server (HSS), an tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) andDomain Name Service (DNS) server, an Application Server (AS), an AccessNetwork (AN), a packet-switched network, and two terminal devices 100denoted by the numbers 1 and 2. The CPS 400 can comprise a number of IMScompliant communication components including without limitation a ProxyCall Session Control Function (P-CSCF), an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF),and a Serving CSCF (S-CSCF). Instances of the CPS 400 can be repeated atvarious points of the IMS network. Signaling and bearer activities aredepicted by dashed versus solid lines between terminal devices 100.

A P-CSCF is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy serving as a firstpoint of contact to terminals devices 100. An I-CSCF is a SIP proxy thatcan among other things query the HSS to retrieve a location of aterminal device 100 and route SIP calls to its assigned S-CSCF. Apresence server can be queried by the CSCF components of the CPS 400 toderive presence information of a called party by way of thepacket-switched network. Presence information associated with an enduser can include without limitation a location of the end user, the typeof terminal device 100 in use by the end user, the end user's activities(e.g., on an active call, engaging in email exchanges, busy, unavailableby voice but available by text, etc.). The nature of the presenceinformation monitored can be expansive.

An S-CSCF is a SIP server that handles SIP registrations. It can alsodecide which ASs to forward a SIP message to in order to provideadditional services offered by the ASs. ASs can provide routing servicesusing ENUM lookups, and can enforce the policy of a service provider ofthe IMS network. The ASs can also host and execute value-added IMSservices (e.g., Caller ID, Call waiting, Push To Talk, etc.).

The HSS can serve as a master database that supports the IMS network forhandling calls. It can contain subscription information. It can alsoperform authentication and authorization of a terminal device 100. TheENUM/DNS server is a domain name service or DNS-based protocol that isbest suited to offer services that expand a means to complete calls overIP networks. It provides a user with a domain name on an E.164 server inorder to associate a common international telephone number with auniform resource identifier or URI and provides other DNS-relatedservices. The DNS function can be used to look up Internet addresses forcommunication identifiers such as SIP or Tel URIs.

The ANs support wireline or wireless access technologies such as thosedescribed earlier for the terminal device 100. The packet-switchednetwork can represent a packet network supporting any number ofprotocols such as IP, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS),Asynchronous Transfer Mode/Frame Relay (ATM/FR), and combinationsthereof.

Referring back to FIG. 2, method 200 illustrates a means forestablishing Grades of Service (GoS) for a select end user (i.e.,subscriber of the IMS network). Method 200 begins with step 202 in whicha provisioning system such as a common web server receives a pluralityof communication identifiers of an end user. The communicationidentifiers can correspond to session initiation protocol (SIP) UniformResource Identifiers (URIs), telephone (Tel) URIs, email addresses, andinstant messaging addresses, each of which can be used to establishcommunications with the end user at different points in time. The SIPand Tel URIs can represent communication identifiers that can be used toestablish communications with a cellular communication device, a homecommunication device, an office communication device, or other types ofpresent and future communication devices available to the end user. Theforegoing communication identifiers can be associated with a calling IDthat conforms to an E.164 communication standard defined by theInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The communication identifiers received by the provisioning system canoriginate from a terminal device 100 of the end user linked to a websitesupported by the provisioning system. Alternatively, an agent of theservice provider of the IMS network (e.g., an operator or synthesissystem such as an interactive voice response system or IVR) can receivethe communication identifiers via communications with the end user andsupply said identifiers to the provisioning system by way of a privatewebsite linked to said agent. In step 204, the agent or end user can bepresented on a plurality of selectable GoSs which can be retrieved fromthe HSS (or other comparable IMS database system) from which the agentor end user can supply a selection response in step 206. Each GoS cancomprise a variant of the communication identifiers supplied by the enduser. Consequently, a GoS selection can be utilized by portions of theCPS 400 as a means to locate the end user by way of a number ofcommunication end points in the IMS network (e.g., cell phone, homeoffice, email, etc.). A service provider of the CPS 400 can charge anend user a service fee for each selectable GoS.

For example, a service provider can offer its subscribers four GoSservices: platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Platinum can represent alist of all possible communication identifiers (e.g., all SIP and TelURIs, email addresses, and instant messaging addresses) associated witha targeted end user. While gold, silver and bronze can each represent anascending subset of these communication identifiers. With a selectedGoS, an S-CSCF and I-CSCF can be provided with a list of options tolocate a called subscriber of the IMS network.

Once a GoS is selected, the provisioning system proceeds to step 208where it checks if the agent or end user has provided supplementalcustomization features. In one embodiment, the GoS can be supplementedwith presence information retrievable from a presence server which theend user has subscribed to by way of the service provider of the CPS 400or a third party service provider that manages said system. To provide asecured means of retrieving said presence data, the provisioning systemcan be supplied communication data of the presence server in step 210.The communication data can include among other things a SIP URI forlocating the presence server and an authorization code to authorizeaccess to the presence information of a targeted subscriber. Theauthorization code can be a login and password of the end user or a moresophisticated identification means to authorize the exchange of presenceinformation of an end user with portions of the CPS 400.

Alternatively, the provisioning system can receive in step 212 from theagent or end user a priority order of communication. Said priority orderof communication can define, for example, an order of priority forselecting the communication identifiers of a selected GoS to establishcommunication with the end user (e.g., start with office phone first,then home phone, then instant messaging, and so on). The priority orderof communication can be stored as separate fields in the NAPTR record,or can be defined by the order in which communication identifiers arestored in said NAPTR record.

In either of the foregoing supplemental embodiments, the ENUM server isdirected by the provisioning system in step 214 to record in itsdatabase the GoS and its customization data in a NAPTR record associatedwith the end user. If no customization data is given, then theprovisioning system directs the ENUM server in step 216 to store the GoSin the NAPTR record for random selection of the communicationidentifiers to establish communications with the end user. Theaforementioned provisioning system can be an integral part of the HSS,the CPS 400 or any other suitable component of the IMS network.

Referring to FIG. 3, method 300 describes how components of the CPS 400process a call initiated by a third party. Beginning with step 302, aP-CSCF receives a calling ID (e.g., an E.164 number) from a terminaldevice 100 targeting a called party. The P-CSCF forwards the calling IDto the S-CSCF of the calling party's home network which forwards thecalling ID as a query to an ENUM server in step 304. The ENUM serverretrieves in step 306 from a NAPTR record in its database indexed by thecalling ID a plurality of communication identifiers (i.e., SIP URIs, TelURIs, email addresses, or instant messaging addresses) structuredaccording to a GoS selected by the called party in method 200, andsubmits said identifiers to the inquiring S-CSCF.

In step 308, the S-CSCF selects one of a number of possiblecommunication options. In one embodiment, the S-CSCF can be directed instep 310 to attempt reaching the called party at each communicationidentifier in any order. Alternatively, the S-CSCF can be directed instep 312 to attempt reaching the called party according to a givenpriority order of communication supplied by the ENUM server. Saidpriority can be based on an order of the communication identifierssupplied by the ENUM server, or priority instructions supplied with thecommunication identifiers. In yet another embodiment, the ENUM servercan supply communication data to the S-CSCF to retrieve in step 314presence information associated with the called party from a presenceserver which the called party is subscribed to. The S-CSCF can thenselect a communication identifier from the list of communicationidentifiers supplied by the ENUM server according to the presenceinformation retrieved.

For example, the S-CSCF can be programmed to select an instant messagingaddress as a first attempt for communicating with the called party whenthe presence information indicates that the called party is on an activeconference call using her office phone, but has a presence status ofbusy for voice communications but available for instant messaging. Inother situations, the presence information may indicate that the calledparty is not busy, but is located at home rather than her office. Inthis situation, the S-CSCF can be programmed to select a SIP URI for aVoIP home phone (or Tel URI if the called party has a PSTN phone) ratherthan email or instant messaging. From these examples, it would beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the S-CSCF can beprogrammed to respond to presence information in any desirable manner.

When a SIP or Tel URI is selected in any of steps 310 through 316, theS-CSCF queries the DNS server of the caller's network for an IP addressto communicate with an I-CS CF of the called party's network. The I-CSCF in turn sends a communication invite to the S-CSCF of the calledparty's network which then prompts a P-CSCF of the called party'snetwork that passes the invite to the called party's terminal device 100to establish communication. If the terminal device 100 is not availablefor communication or the called party cannot be reached, the S-CSCF ofthe calling party's network can be programmed to attempt communicationon the next available communication identifier and repeat the foregoingprocess until the called party is reached.

In summary, methods 200-300 provide subscribers of the IMS network ameans to be located by calling parties at a variety of communicationpoints in the IMS network. A priority order of communication applied tocommunication identifiers of a GoS selected by a called party, and/orpresence information retrieved for a called party further supplementsthe ability to locate a called party. Consequently, the embodimentsdisclosed herein are an improvement over prior art systems that rely ona single SIP or Tel URI to contact a called party.

Upon reviewing the embodiments disclosed, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, a subscriber of theIMS network can dynamically change between GoS settings at differentpoints in time. The subscriber can for instance establish that suchchanges are to take place automatically each day (e.g., a GoS duringworking hours, another GoS after-hours, another GoS during the weekend,and so on). This is but one example of a modification that is within thescope of the claims listed below. Accordingly, the reader is directed tothe claims section for a fuller understanding of the breadth and scopeof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 500 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 500 may include a processor 502 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 504 and a static memory 506, which communicate with each othervia a bus 508. The computer system 500 may further include a videodisplay unit 510 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system500 may include an input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 514 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 516, a signal generationdevice 518 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 520.

The disk drive unit 516 may include a machine-readable medium 522 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 524)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 524may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 504, the static memory 506, and/or within the processor 502during execution thereof by the computer system 500. The main memory 504and the processor 502 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 524, or that which receives and executes instructions 524from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 526 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 526 using the instructions 524. Theinstructions 524 may further be transmitted or received over a network526 via the network interface device 520.

While the machine-readable medium 522 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a systemcomprising a processor, a plurality of communication identifiers for anend user of a communication network; receiving, by the system, aselection of a grade of service from a communication device of the enduser; and retrieving, by the system, presence information from apresence server subscribed to by the end user; wherein the grade ofservice corresponds to a subset of the plurality of communicationidentifiers, the subset of the plurality of communication identifiersbeing temporally variable, wherein each of the communication identifierscorresponds to a different communication device comprising an end pointin the communication network, and wherein at a given time the end useris accessible by equipment of another party via the network inaccordance with the grade of service and the presence information. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting an offer of gradesof service via a communication device of the end user, wherein theselection of the grade of service is received in response to the offer.3. The method of claim 1 wherein, in accordance with the selection, thesubset of the plurality of communication identifiers variesautomatically with a time of day, a range of dates, a day of the week,or a combination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the subsetof the plurality of communication identifiers varies dynamically inaccordance with an instruction provided by equipment of the end user. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the selection comprises a time scheduleprovided by equipment of the end user, and wherein the subset of theplurality of communication identifiers varies according to the timeschedule.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: selecting one ofthe subset of the plurality of communication identifiers and thecorresponding communication device to direct a call to the end user, theselecting in accordance with the presence information and the timeschedule; and selecting an alternate one of the subset of the pluralityof communication identifiers and a corresponding alternate communicationdevice to direct the call, in accordance with the presence informationor the time schedule indicating that the end user is not available viathe selected one of the subset of the plurality of communicationidentifiers.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating adatabase record associated with the end user to record the selection ofthe grade of service and the presence information.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of communication identifiers are receivedat a provisioning system from a terminal device of the end user, theprovisioning system coupled to the presence server.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising querying, by the system, a home subscriberserver to retrieve a location of the terminal device.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the selected grade of service corresponds to all thecommunication identifiers associated with the end user.
 11. A servercomprising: a memory to store instructions; and a processor coupled tothe memory, wherein responsive to executing the instructions, theprocessor performs operations comprising: receiving a plurality ofcommunication identifiers for an end user of a communication network;receiving a selection of a grade of service from equipment of the enduser; and retrieving presence information from a presence serversubscribed to by the end user, wherein the selected grade of servicecorresponds to a subset of the plurality of communication identifiers,wherein, in accordance with the selection, the subset of the pluralityof communication identifiers varies according to a predetermined timeschedule, according to an instruction provided by equipment of the enduser, or a combination thereof, and wherein at a given time the end useris accessible by equipment of another party via the network inaccordance with the selected grade of service and the presenceinformation.
 12. The server of claim 11, wherein the subset of theplurality of communication identifiers varies automatically with a timeof day, a range of dates, a day of the week, or a combination thereof.13. The server of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality ofcommunication identifiers corresponds to a different communicationdevice comprising an end point in the communication network.
 14. Theserver of claim 11, wherein the subset of the plurality of communicationidentifiers varies dynamically in accordance with instructions providedby the equipment of the end user.
 15. The server of claim 11, whereinthe subset of the plurality of communication identifiers variesaccording to a time schedule provided by the equipment of the end user.16. A tangible computer-readable storage device comprising instructionswhich, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to performoperations comprising: receiving a plurality of communicationidentifiers for an end user of a communication network; presenting anoffer of grades of service via equipment of the end user; receiving aselection of a grade of service from the equipment of the end user inresponse to the offer; and retrieving presence information from apresence server subscribed to by the end user, wherein the selectedgrade of service corresponds to a subset of the plurality ofcommunication identifiers, wherein, in accordance with the selection,the subset of the plurality of communication identifiers varies withtime, and wherein at a given time the end user is accessible byequipment of another party via the network in accordance with theselected grade of service and the presence information.
 17. The tangiblecomputer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein each of theplurality of communication identifiers corresponds to a differentcommunication device comprising an end point in the communicationnetwork.
 18. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 16,wherein the subset of the plurality of communication identifiers variesaccording to a predetermined time schedule, according to an instructionprovided by equipment of the end user.
 19. The tangiblecomputer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the subset of theplurality of communication identifiers varies automatically with a timeof day, a range of dates, a day of the week, or a combination thereof.20. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 16, whereinthe subset of the plurality of communication identifiers variesdynamically in accordance with instructions provided by the equipment ofthe end user.